Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1540425
18 PCB007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2025 F E AT U R E I N T E RV I E W by M a rcy La Ro nt , I - C o n n e ct 0 07 Waging the Battle for American PCB Reshoring Editor's note: The following is a transcript of the audio interview. L egislation is shaping global trade, tariffs, and sus- tainability and environmental regulations. David Schild of PCBAA discusses exactly where the U.S. stands in its efforts to reshore printed circuit board manufacturing for critical industries. This conversa- tion at PCB West occurred on the first day of the fed- eral government's shutdown, so it seemed espe- cially timely to hear David's thoughts and insights on how the current political climate is affecting efforts to achieve the U.S. industry's reshoring goals. This is Marcy LaRont with I-Connect007, and I'm here at PCB West in Santa Clara with David Schild of the PCBAA. Hi, David, thanks for being here. David Schild: Great to be here, Marcy. Always good to talk to you. Today of all days, I'm especially happy to talk to you. We were all celebrating in March last year based on what we thought were some spending appropriations that had been approved and some support in the government for the printed circuit board manufacturing sector in the U.S. part of the microelectronic stack and electronic stack. A lot has changed since then. Thanks, Marcy. It's good to be here with you in Santa Clara at PCB West. This is a great trade show. There are so many of our members, and hopefully some prospective members in the room as well, but there is a real concentration of industry greats, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. You know, it's been a really interesting year. When we last talked, we were celebrating some wins in Washington. Of course, it was a big win just three years ago, when the president declared that printed circuit boards and IC substrates were a critical national security technology. That was a huge win. What followed was about $118 million in fund- ing through the Defense Production Act. That's the Pentagon giving out money, investing primarily in HDI and UHDI, and that money is at work right now